Leviticus 4:3

Posted on April 4, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 4:3 si sacerdos, qui unctus est, peccaverit, delinquere faciens populum, offeret pro peccato suo vitulum immaculatum Domino:

if the priest who has been anointed shall sin, causing the people to incur guilt, he shall offer for his sin a young bull without blemish to the LORD;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 si if CONJ
2 sacerdos the priest NOUN, NOM.SG.M, 3RD DECL
3 qui who PRON, NOM.SG.M, REL
4 unctus anointed VERB, PERF.PTCP.PASS.NOM.SG.M
5 est is VERB, 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
6 peccaverit shall have sinned VERB, 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
7 delinquere to cause to fail VERB, PRES.ACT.INF
8 faciens causing VERB, PRES.PTCP.ACT.NOM.SG.M
9 populum the people NOUN, ACC.SG.M, 2ND DECL
10 offeret he shall offer VERB, 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
11 pro for PREP+ABL
12 peccato sin NOUN, ABL.SG.N, 2ND DECL
13 suo his ADJ, ABL.SG.N, POSS
14 vitulum a young bull NOUN, ACC.SG.M, 2ND DECL
15 immaculatum without blemish ADJ, ACC.SG.M, POS
16 Domino to the LORD NOUN, DAT.SG.M, 2ND DECL

Syntax

Conditional Protasis: si sacerdos … peccaverit — sets the legal condition involving the anointed priest.
Embedded Relative Clause: qui unctus est — identifies the priest specifically as the anointed one.
Participial Clause: delinquere faciens populum — expresses the consequence of the priest’s sin, namely causing collective guilt.
Main Apodosis: offeret … vitulum immaculatum Domino — states the required expiatory offering.

Morphology

  1. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces conditional clause; Translation: if; Notes: standard legal-conditional marker.
  2. sacerdos — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: the priest; Notes: refers specifically to the high priest in context.
  3. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: relative pronoun modifying sacerdos; Translation: who; Notes: identifies role.
  4. unctus — Lemma: ungo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect passive participle nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate participle; Translation: anointed; Notes: describes priestly consecration.
  5. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary; Translation: is; Notes: completes participial construction.
  6. peccaverit — Lemma: pecco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of condition; Translation: shall have sinned; Notes: legal formulation for wrongdoing.
  7. delinquere — Lemma: delinquo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complement of faciens; Translation: to cause to fail; Notes: describes leading others into guilt.
  8. faciens — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies sacerdos; Translation: causing; Notes: expresses concurrent action.
  9. populum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of faciens; Translation: the people; Notes: priestly sin affects the whole congregation.
  10. offeret — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of apodosis; Translation: he shall offer; Notes: legal obligation.
  11. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses substitution; Translation: for; Notes: offering made on account of sin.
  12. peccato — Lemma: peccatum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of pro; Translation: sin; Notes: specifies offense requiring sacrifice.
  13. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: modifies peccato; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive to subject.
  14. vitulum — Lemma: vitulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of offeret; Translation: a young bull; Notes: required high-value sacrifice.
  15. immaculatum — Lemma: immaculatus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies vitulum; Translation: without blemish; Notes: ritual standard for purity.
  16. Domino — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to the LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH and must be rendered “LORD.”

 

About Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Born around 346 A.D. in Stridon, St. Jerome was a scholar fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew whose ascetic discipline and deep engagement with Scripture prepared him for a monumental task: translating the Bible into Latin. Commissioned by Pope Damasus I around 382 A.D., Jerome began by revising the flawed Old Latin Gospels, then expanded his work to the entire Bible. For the New Testament, he corrected Latin texts using Greek manuscripts; for the Old Testament, he translated most books directly from Hebrew—a controversial but principled choice. His final Psalter, however, followed the Greek Septuagint tradition for liturgical use. This composite translation, later known as the Vulgate (editio vulgata), became the authoritative biblical text of the Western Church, formally endorsed at the Council of Trent in 1546. The Vulgate’s influence extends beyond theology into textual criticism and Latin education. As one of the earliest translations grounded in original-language scholarship, it offers a vital witness to the state of biblical texts in late antiquity. Jerome’s lexical and syntactic decisions are studied to trace manuscript history and assess variant readings. Its elegant Latin, consistent in grammar and rich in vocabulary, became a model for medieval and Renaissance learning, bridging classical and ecclesiastical Latin. More than a translation, the Vulgate helped define Christian doctrine, preserved the Latin language, and laid essential groundwork for the critical study of Scripture—remaining indispensable to students of Latin, theology, and textual history.
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